Exchange City
Comments
-
I know I have asked this question already but I only got one reply so Ill put this out there again.
As a survey to those who are further along....did you SIZE change between the exchange, the swelling going down, the drop and the fluff? and if it changed (i.e. swelling going down), did it go back up with the fluff?
I thought they were smaller than expected after exchange....and now my swelling on the right is decidedly going down....so its getting more hamburger bunnish. Im afraid to keep the Chantelle Bra I bought if I will go down a cup size. But I need to be wearing SOMEthing right now. I have two bras that I can wear but I am not filling the right cup now.
A google search on drop and fluff has people saying they got bigger with fluff but then they had augmentations not recons. I have one of each!
0 -
Maybe we need a 'drop and fluff' thread.....for all D&F questions and answers!!!
0 -
Hi SueBee, Cannot answer your question,because as you know we are at the same place. But i was just double checking did you have a mx on one breast,and construction on the other to match? Thats what i had and the reconstruction involved lifting the breast and putting a smaller implant in to match the mx breast, my lifted side was probably a large b before but when he lifted of course he had to cut some out to put implant in to keep it up and perky ( im 50 so it was not perky) Just wondering if that was what you had? and also if you did is the mx less soft like mine?But i can live with it.....
0 -
Suebee and Beacher, We are all at the same post exchange time frame (give or take a week). My mx side is less soft than my prophy side. It is still swollen, but has dropped further down than the prohy side. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is run to the mirror and pull up my shirt to see what changes occurred while I was sleeping!
0 -
Slinky thats funny- my hands are all over my chest all day....I hope no one sees me!!! Like my first child, I cant stop watching the new girls grow and change. LOL. I think my mx side has the beginnings of drop happening.
Beacher youre almost right. I had a Uni and an augmentation. I was a deflated A before surgery and wanted to be a C. I am in a D now however and not complaining about it. I got a little lift as a bonus.
My mx side is SO soft and squishy right now and my augment side is taught but not hard at all. I think its just still swollen and like "WTH just happened?" My MX side feels almost like just the implants I played with before surgery....soft and pliable...not so on the augment side. Maybe because it was stretched 4 times its natural size! LOL.
0 -
Slinky, you are so funny!!! i just imagine you like a little kid at Christmas
My prophy side is much more swollen then mx but it is coming down. Did you have a lift too? Cause a lift involves moving the muscle which is just more to be swollen... 0 -
SueBee: My size went down some on both sides but the flat area in the middle dropped some and the whole breast softened. My MX side never fluffed like the augmented side and it is still slightly smaller. Still, before my MX my right side was smaller, now I have it in reverse and overall they are a pretty good match. I don't think it's an exact science. I used to obsess about it and when I am naked my eye just goes to the difference and maybe one day I can afford to have micro fat grafting to add some fat to the front of my breast but in clothes I look even so for now that's good enough for me. My DH loves them, too, so since he's the only other person who sees me naked besides my dr's...it's good enough for me.
Beacher: I didn't have a lift nor did I have radiation but my MX side is harder, though not as hard as the TE-not even close. That thing was like a turtle shell. Where my scar is is the hardest to the touch. I can't manipulate the breast like my augmented side but I am working on it. Estepp massaged hers alot to get it to soften up. You might want to ask her about radiation.
0 -
Exchange maybe as far out as a year after rads? UGH!
0 -
My PS wanted me to wait at least 10 months after radiation so that my muscle and skin could heal as much as possible. I ended up waiting about 11 1/2 months after radiation was finished. My PS said when people try and do it sooner they have more problems. So I had my TE's in for a year and a half. It actually went pretty quickly and my family had some good laughs over them. We called them the boobs of Steel.
0 -
GASP!!!! MBJ - I dont want to be SMALLER!!!!! My first thought after surgery was that I thought they were smaller than I expected!!! And the flat spot on my MX side DEFINITELY dropped. Big time.
0 -
Sleep positions?
So, in what position do you sleep when you have your exchange and for how long. I am sleeping on my back. With TEs I was able to sleep on my side for some of the times. I plan to check with my PS, but was wondering what others have heard or experienced. I can not wait to sleep on my stomach. I have alway been a stomach sleeper, but have been unable to do so since my Bi-mx. I will have to be very careful with my left side do to radiation so I am pretty sure it will be a while. Maybe by Christmas.
0 -
Suebee: I loved the size that I was right after exchange: they were nice and full and I had lots of upper pole fullness. What I lost was the upper pole fullness. My bra cup is almost the same though one of my first bras is now slightly big and I could wear a 34D instead of a 34DD in this. I now have a range of 34D-34DD bras. I like the ones that push up to give me the look of right after my exchange. You may not have this problem as we are all different but this was my experience.
0 -
shortlady: I really had to learn to sleep half sitting up and on my back for what seemed like forever. I can now sleep comfortably on my side but I have never been able to go back to sleeping on my stomach-it just feels weird.
0 -
Right after my exchange, I was able to sleep flat on my back - no pain. Now I am sleeping on my back and sides and sometimes I will test the waters and lay flat on my stomach, squishing my boobs. I figured if I am supposed to massage them, laying flat will open the pockets for sure.
0 -
MBJ thanks for the input....watch and wait. sigh. Im just expecting my Chantelles in the mail tomorrow and they arent the cheapest bras on the market. Maybe I should just try them on for size and return them and wait for the D&F.
Shortlady - My PS had me in the recliner for the first night, but then said I could do whatever was comfortable. I actually like my recliner so I was in it for 4 nights I think. Then after only 1 uncomfortable night, I was sleeping on my side. Now I am 14 days out and I dont need pillow props anymore....I can side sleep without pain (although as a disclaimer, I tried it once with no bra on and made it only an hour!) Im not a belly nor back sleeper at all.
0 -
Sue - I'm reluctant to answer your question because I don't think I'm the norm. I had a lot of pain after my exchange ... I had a lot of pain all through the process actually ... looking back I do think I had some post-mx-pain syndrome going on ... but my bra size went down too. I couldn't stand anything tight or any wires close to my implant ... it was excruciatingly painful. I too had a lot of swelling which I loved after my exchange which gave me some upper pole fullness. It went away after about six weeks. I wore bras as large was a 34C and 32DD after my exchange ... now I'm wearing 32C or 30D. I did gain some projection with the drop and fluff but never regained the upper pole fullness I had right after my exchange.0
-
Thanks for the advice- I will be having my exchange surgery in 10 days (if my hemoglobin is ok- hoping that will not be an issue).
Are there any places that summarize advice and early post op care? I have never had to wear anything but a tshirt type cami since my BMX. Not sure if I'll be back in a bra again post op? I am worried about pain. My PS said "it's about 1/5th as hard as the BMX" I didn't have too much pain post op after the BMX. He did say I'll have 2 drains for about 4 days (I had 4 last time- that was the worst part for me).
Advice, guidance welcomed- it's getting close now.. I finished 6 rounds of TCH a month ago.
Lisa
0 -
LisaGH - The exchange is a breeze compared to the BMX. They sent me home in a surgical bra. Ask your PS on what you should wear. If they are ambivalent ... buy a zip or hook up the front exercise bra.
If you didn't have much pain with your BMX ... this should be cake for you! Like after the BMX ... you will be limited on your reaching, lifting, pulling capabilities.
Congratulations on making it this far. You've done the hard part ... this should be a breeze comparatively! xo
0 -
Lisa: This is a great place to get answers to your questions. Most of us go home in a surgical bra and had to wear either a sports bra or the bra our PS told us to get. Go to Breast Implant Sizing 101 and also Bras 101 the Great Post Exchange Debate. Most important for the first month is no pulling, stretching, lifting or straining. You also want to keep the breasts in their proper place and you will find help with this on the bra thread. Good luck with your exchange!
0 -
Thanks Dawne-Hope and MBJ- very helpful info!
0 -
Hello Ladies,
I have not posted for awhile now as work has been crazy for me, there are no lack of Hospice patients in Ventura County;( So, my exchange is less than 2 weeks away, and I am now getting nervous. I have a question for all of you...I now have the horrible TE's, which have been overfilled to 800cc for two months, I have never gotten good sleep since BPM in March. My TE's look lower that I would like....will Silicone Implants be positioned higher?....also, did all of you have drains? my PS says that will depend on whether or not he needs to do pocket work, I do not have Alloderm, he made a dermal sling out of my own excess tissue, still have alot of pain on the sides and in the middle of the foobs. My PS is only giving me 2 weeks off.
0 -
Regarding size change post exchange, I did not experience that. Like MBJ, I lost upper pole fullness which I believe was swelling going away. It kind of gave me the impression that the foobs dropped a little, but I think it was just a visual change for me, less up top, looks lower. I really don't think they moved at all.
Re firmness, my rads side which also has lat d tissue, is more firm than my prophy side. Although firm, it still can be squished, just not as much as other side.
0 -
So pole fullness. I have never heard that before. I never had that before my mxs unless I wore a push up and together bra. I had more side cleavage and I do not have weight issues. One week after exchange and my right side is looking pretty good. My left side is flatter. My husband says they do not look to bad. It is funny, but I guess I was expecting them to look even better than I had before. I guess I should be glad if they look like what I had before the mxs.
0 -
Rnjules
I just got my 800cc silicone buddies on thurs. Mine seem lower that I would have liked or expected. I am hoping they can fluff up...I had my horroble expanders in for about 1 1/2 years..and while I am glad to get rid of them...I am feeling "flat". I know it's only been 3 days..and after going through one heck of a nausea bout, I do feel alot better.(thank you drugs!) I guess I just wish I didn't have such high hopes so soon. My implants are suppose to be high profile..but they feel anything but! I know patience....anyone have any to send my way??? Should I be wearing a sports bra that is tighter to lift them?? My post op visit is on Wed...So I guess I will know more.
0 -
I see DeeKaay..........
0 -
My first set of implants were 750cc high profile naturelles. They hung very low. My skin is very thin and was not able to handle an implant of that size. My old PS also made my pockets way to pig for the implant and I had huge divots above both implants. My then PS just kept telling me that this was reconstruction and not augmentation. So basically his job was done. I was not happy at all and found a new PS asap! My current and new PS told me that I definitely needed revisions and a smaller implants becuase of I have thin skin. She did a great job on my 4th surgery... and made the pocket much smaller and put in 650 cc high profile mentor implants. She did say that she may have had to do a few more revisions. She did her 2nd surgery on me on June 8 and took more skin and tightened the implant in the pocket. I am now a comfortable 36C and quite happy with my size. I think when my implants settle I still may have a small divot but fat grafting should fix this in my 6th and hopefully final surgery!
0 -
I have been lurking here for a long time and have learned a lot. Thank you! I had a left mastectomy and a TE put in. I had to have a lot of skin removed so he was only able to fill it with125cc at surgery, I got to a total of 300 cc filled and then had to take a break to do radiation. They told me that I could continue filling after radiation. I had to do this so that I could get back to work in August and I know it was not ideal. I want to reduce from my current 36DD size to a C cup. My measurement around is 31.5 inches. I'm 5'3" and weight approx 140. My TE is a Natrelle Style 133V-500cc series. Can you give me some idea of how much to expand and what to request for an implant? Thanks for all your help.
0 -
Suebee... I have the same question about size changing with the D&F. I am in about the same time frame as you and beacher.... just 11 days post exchange now and I think they appear smaller now than a few days ago. I guess any swelling has gone down. My PS wants me in a sports type bra for 3-4 months but I know that I will be cheating on that order. Just wondering how long to wait until I can safely measure for new bras. Is a month after exchange enough time?
0 -
sorry, posted to wrong site. I reposted in "implant sizing".
0 -
Well, Joan I hear ya! I see PS on Tuesday for my post op and will be asking a lot of questions!!!
For everyone else - I officially had cold boob syndrome today. My left is still swollen and warm (not hot - just warm - my TE side was like that when it was healing) but my right's swelling is totally down and it was COLD today....the cold I had heard about from others. Oh brother and this is a cool summer day - what am I gonna feel like when the winter comes???
And I also have ripples!! Yippe (not). I love that the swelling is down and its so soft and squishy now, but it so does not match the other sister anymore. Size nor shape.
I guess its time for my two week pictures tomorrow. Didnt I say last time that I wasnt going to post pictures every week?????
0
